An autumn outdoor Wedding - Template for a beautiful Ceremony

Since our local church as well as the church near the reception hall were both booked a year in advance of our wedding, we decided to have our ceremony outdoors.  It was a lovely day and the ceremony was beautiful in front of the ocean.

Since we couldn't get married in the church, but we still wanted a religious ceremony, I decided to put together a ceremony for the priest that was very traditional, but not as long as a Catholic Ceremony.  I adapted it from traditional Catholic ceremony, the royal wedding and bits and pieces of ceremony ideas from the web.  All in all I think our ceremony was perfect.  Not to long, not to short and beautifully our own.

If you are having an outdoor ceremony, but would still like it to be religious, this is a good basis to work from.  It took a lot of hard work to put this together.  I'm happy I can now share it with you.




Welcome
Family and friends, I welcome you to this day of celebration.  Curtis & Jennifer - have invited us here to this place to share in their declaration of lifelong commitment to each other. Your blessings, support, and encouragement are important to this union, not only now, but in the days and years to come.

Amidst the turmoil of our world, with all of life's struggles and concerns, it is with deep joy and a sense of wonder and awe that we pause to affirm the power of love. As we gather to witness the union of – Curtis & Jennifer - we also celebrate the blessings we all cherish in our intimate relationships. This ceremony calls us all to renew our vows of love and commitment to one another.

Curtis & Jennifer - you have signified your desire to enter into the holy state of marriage, and no one has shown just cause why you may not. If either of you know of any lawful impediment why you may not be married, I charge you now, before God, the Searcher of all hearts, to declare it...........
Opening Prayer
Beloved God, we welcome you and are so grateful for your presence here with us today.  We have come here as a community of family and friends to love and support  Jennifer and Curtis, to witness their entrance into the sacred and joyous covenant of marriage, and to celebrate the beginning of their journey together as husband and wife.  You are here because you love Jennifer and Curtis.  You rejoice that they have found each other and that through each other, they have come to know the power of love as they have never known it before.  We celebrate this union of their hearts, minds, bodies and souls and wish them great joy.  We ask, beloved God, that you guide and bless them with a loving, healthy, and happy marriage.  We ask that through this union they may come to know you more deeply.  This we pray!

Reading - (Read by Maid of Honor)
On Love - Brother Thomas A. Kempis
Love is a mighty power, a great and complete good.
Love alone lightens every burden, and makes rough places smooth.
It bears every hardship as though it were nothing, and renders all bitterness sweet and acceptable.
Nothing is sweeter than love, Nothing stronger,
Nothing higher, Nothing wider,
Nothing more pleasant,
Nothing fuller or better in heaven or earth; for love is born of God.
Love flies, runs and leaps for joy. It is free and unrestrained.
Love knows no limits, but ardently transcends all bounds.
Love feels no burden, takes no account of toil,
attempts things beyond its strength.
Love sees nothing as impossible, for it feels able to achieve all things.
It is strange and effective,
while those who lack love faint and fail.
Love is not fickle and sentimental, nor is it intent on vanities.
Like a living flame and a burning torch,
it surges upward and surely surmounts every obstacle. 

Ave Maria
Officiant: A Reading from: John 15:12-16
 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.  no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name
Marriage Address:
A spiritual life grows as love finds its center beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.
You will both make your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you will align yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We pray that all of us present sharing in your joy today, will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life. And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen, that way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:
We thank God  for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.  Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer.

PRAYER BEFORE VOWS EXCHANGED
We ask blessings to be with - Jennifer - and - Curtis - as they now make their vows.

Offciant to Curtis:
Curtis, will you have this woman to be your  wife, to live together according to God's law
Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as you both shall live?
He answers: I will.
Officiant to Jennifer: Jennifer, will you have this man to be your   husband, to live together according to God's law.
Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as you both shall live?
She answers: I will.
Curtis, repeat after me:
I, Curtis, take you, Jennifer to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's law; and thereto I give thee my pledge.
Jennifer, repeat after me:
I, Jennifer, take thee, Curtis, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's law; and thereto I give thee my pledge.
Rings:  (Best Man will have the rings)
Officiant: God, grant that he who gives it and she who shall wear it may remain faithful to each other, and abide in thy peace and favor, and live together in love until their lives' end.
Curtis, places the ring on Jennifer’s finger and repeats after the officiant.
With this ring I thee wed; with my body I  honor; and all my worldly goods with you I share:
Jennifer, places the ring on Curtis’s finger and repeats after the officiant.  
With this ring I thee wed; with my body I honor; and all my worldly goods with you I share:

The Officiant joins their right hands together and says: Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.
Prayers of the faithful: - (Read by Groomsman)
Let us Pray
God the Father, source of all life and love, willed that husband and wife should become one flesh in marriage. Let us pray to him in sincerity of heart on this joyous occasion.

We pray for Jennifer and Curtis that their love for each other may be patterned on Christ's love for his bride, the Church. We pray to the Lord.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for Jennifer and Curtis will share in God's creative work and enjoy the gift of children. We pray to the Lord.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for the parents of Jennifer and Curtis…, that they will continue to support them on the journey which begins at this altar. We pray to the Lord.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for those preparing for their marriage day, that they may understand well the dignity and responsibilities of the marriage covenant and family life. We pray to the Lord.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for married people everywhere, that they will live in love and faithfulness, for better, for worse, in joy or in sorrow, all the days of their lives. We pray to the Lord.
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.

Conclusion:
Officiant:  For as much as Curtis and Jennifer have consented together in wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and their family and friends, and have given and pledged themselves to each other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a ring, and by joining of hands; I now pronounce you husband and wife!
Curtis you may kiss your Bride!
I introduce to you the Newlyweds Curtis and Jennifer!